Kelly Olynyk draws parallel between early years with Boston Celtics and current Miami Heat team

BOCA RATON – Between garage sales at his home in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston and fleeing South Florida ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma, Kelly Olynyk spent plenty of time in Miami this summer getting to know his new teammates.

And Olynyk, who signed a four-year, $50 million contract in July, sees a parallel between this Heat team and his early years with the Celtics.

Olynyk, 26, was the 13th overall pick in 2013 by the Mavericks before being traded to Boston on draft night. The next couple of years the Celtics started to build a team that eventually would reach the Eastern Conference finals last May and now has championship aspirations.

In 2015-16, the Celtics entered the season with one player, David Lee, who played in an All-Star game, and several who were developing. Isaiah Thomas had joined Boston the previous year and that season started to turn into the star he has become.

“That’s how we were in Boston until Isaiah became an All-Star,” the 7-foot center/forward said. “We were just a group of guys playing hard every single night together with a great coach.

“That’s what we have here. I kind of see the similarities and the parallels and the same formula. I think the opportunities and the ceiling is limitless.”

Olynyk jumped into camp this week at Florida Atlantic University already having learned a lot about his new teammates. He was part of a core group of players – along with Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson, James Johnson, Josh Richardson, Udonis Haslem, Dion Waiters and Rodney McGruder – that spent a lot time this summer at the team’s practice facility.

“You got a great group of guys who are really hard workers,” he said. “It’s kind of like the group we had in Boston that kind of grew together. It’s a close group. … It’s a gritty group of guys, tough nosed, chip on your shoulder, coming to work every day to prove something. That’s half the battle sometimes.”